2023-09-24 04:00:00
A 60-year-old who dreamed of exploring Europe suffered a detached retina just three days after arriving in the UK, forcing her to spend almost $20,000 for her month-long recovery.
“I felt like curling up in a corner […]. It’s a real nightmare,” confides to Journal Micheline Vidal, contacted in London where she is still located.
It was on August 31 that the 69-year-old woman from Quebec set foot in the United Kingdom for the very first time, accompanied by a group of other Hydro-Québec retirees. But everything came to a head just three days after her arrival, when she woke up with a halo in her eye.
Micheline Vidal and her traveling companion Gaëtan Veilleux, during the first days of their trip to the United Kingdom. Photo provided by Mariève Bédard
“I’ve had retinal detachments before, so I knew what was happening to me. But the last one dates back to 2011. It really came out of nowhere,” says Ms. Vidal, reporting the hustle and bustle that followed to obtain an emergency operation in a country that was completely unknown to her. .
She finally went under the knife the next afternoon. Too late to save her macula, but at least she wouldn’t go completely blind in her right eye.
17 000 $ in accommodation
Unfortunately, this was only the beginning of Ms. Vidal’s ordeal, who learned that she would not be able to fly back to Quebec until a month later, due to the gas used to reattach the retina.
Micheline Vidal had to spend five days in a row lying on her left side, almost 24 hours a day, to allow her retina to reattach properly after her operation. Photo provided by Mariève Bédard
“My insurance reimbursed me for the operation, but since I was not hospitalized for more than 24 hours, they only gave me $1,500 to survive the rest. That barely covers four nights in a hotel here…,” laments the sixty-year-old, who is trying to get an additional $2,000 using her credit card insurance.
She tried to find affordable accommodation via the VRBO and Airbnb platforms, but twice she came across unsanitary apartments that did not correspond to the images published on the platforms.
Some of the accommodation found by Ms. Vidal and her family was completely unsanitary. Photo provided by Mariève Bédard
His accommodation will cost him about $17,000 between now and October 6, when he leaves. That’s not counting the money she’ll have to pay for food and transportation, as well as the $10,000 spent on her initial trip that she’ll try to get reimbursed.
Light at the end of the tunnel
This trip was initially supposed to represent a sort of “light at the end of the tunnel” for Ms. Vidal. After battling breast cancer, separating from her partner and losing two sisters, she finally planned to enjoy life.
In fact, she planned to discover Europe one country at a time, with her travel companion Gaëtan Veilleux, over the next few years.
Ms. Vidal’s nieces, Marie-France Jobin and Valérie Trudel, traveled to London to help her for a few days. Photo provided by Mariève Bédard
“I experienced the horror […]. It put an end to my desire for overseas travel. I never want to put my family through this again,” laments the woman who was able to count on her nieces and children to help her during this journey which turned into a nightmare.
Those close to Micheline Vidal launched a GoFundMe campaign to help reimburse the costs of his forced stay in the United Kingdom.
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